WO2023199628A1 - Système de transport et procédé de commande de transport - Google Patents

Système de transport et procédé de commande de transport Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2023199628A1
WO2023199628A1 PCT/JP2023/007383 JP2023007383W WO2023199628A1 WO 2023199628 A1 WO2023199628 A1 WO 2023199628A1 JP 2023007383 W JP2023007383 W JP 2023007383W WO 2023199628 A1 WO2023199628 A1 WO 2023199628A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
transport
conveyance
command
vehicle
controller
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/JP2023/007383
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English (en)
Japanese (ja)
Inventor
亘 北村
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Murata Machinery Ltd
Original Assignee
Murata Machinery Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Murata Machinery Ltd filed Critical Murata Machinery Ltd
Priority to JP2024514834A priority Critical patent/JP7816499B2/ja
Priority to US18/855,438 priority patent/US20250341845A1/en
Priority to CN202380033167.5A priority patent/CN118984800A/zh
Priority to KR1020247037040A priority patent/KR20240172754A/ko
Priority to EP23788050.5A priority patent/EP4497705A4/fr
Publication of WO2023199628A1 publication Critical patent/WO2023199628A1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
    • G05D1/00—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots
    • G05D1/60—Intended control result
    • G05D1/69—Coordinated control of the position or course of two or more vehicles
    • G05D1/698—Control allocation
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10P—GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H10P72/00—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof
    • H10P72/30—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
    • H10P72/32—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for conveying, e.g. between different workstations between different workstations
    • H10P72/3218—Conveying cassettes, containers or carriers
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
    • G05D1/00—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots
    • G05D1/60—Intended control result
    • G05D1/69—Coordinated control of the position or course of two or more vehicles
    • G05D1/698—Control allocation
    • G05D1/6987—Control allocation by centralised control off-board any of the vehicles
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B61—RAILWAYS
    • B61B—RAILWAY SYSTEMS; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B61B3/00—Elevated railway systems with suspended vehicles
    • B61B3/02—Elevated railway systems with suspended vehicles with self-propelled vehicles
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G43/00—Control devices, e.g. for safety, warning or fault-correcting
    • B65G43/10—Sequence control of conveyors operating in combination
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G49/00—Conveying systems characterised by their application for specified purposes not otherwise provided for
    • B65G49/05—Conveying systems characterised by their application for specified purposes not otherwise provided for for fragile or damageable materials or articles
    • B65G49/06—Conveying systems characterised by their application for specified purposes not otherwise provided for for fragile or damageable materials or articles for fragile sheets, e.g. glass
    • B65G49/061—Lifting, gripping, or carrying means, for one or more sheets forming independent means of transport, e.g. suction cups, transport frames
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
    • G05D1/00—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots
    • G05D1/20—Control system inputs
    • G05D1/22—Command input arrangements
    • G05D1/221—Remote-control arrangements
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
    • G05D1/00—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots
    • G05D1/60—Intended control result
    • G05D1/644—Optimisation of travel parameters, e.g. of energy consumption, journey time or distance
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
    • G05D1/00—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots
    • G05D1/60—Intended control result
    • G05D1/65—Following a desired speed profile
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
    • G05D1/00—Control of position, course, altitude or attitude of land, water, air or space vehicles, e.g. using automatic pilots
    • G05D1/60—Intended control result
    • G05D1/656—Interaction with payloads or external entities
    • G05D1/667—Delivering or retrieving payloads
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/08—Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
    • G06Q10/087—Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
    • G06Q10/0874—Inventory fulfillment
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10P—GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H10P72/00—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof
    • H10P72/06—Apparatus for monitoring, sorting, marking, testing or measuring
    • H10P72/0612—Production flow monitoring, e.g. for increasing throughput
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10P—GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H10P72/00—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof
    • H10P72/30—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
    • H10P72/32—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for conveying, e.g. between different workstations between different workstations
    • H10P72/3216—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for conveying, e.g. between different workstations between different workstations using a general scheme of a conveying path within a factory
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10P—GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H10P72/00—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof
    • H10P72/30—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
    • H10P72/32—Handling or holding of wafers, substrates or devices during manufacture or treatment thereof for conveying, e.g. between different workstations between different workstations
    • H10P72/3221—Overhead conveying
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G2201/00—Indexing codes relating to handling devices, e.g. conveyors, characterised by the type of product or load being conveyed or handled
    • B65G2201/02—Articles
    • B65G2201/0297—Wafer cassette
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05D—SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES
    • G05D2105/00—Specific applications of the controlled vehicles
    • G05D2105/20—Specific applications of the controlled vehicles for transportation
    • G05D2105/28—Specific applications of the controlled vehicles for transportation of freight

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a conveyance system and a conveyance control method.
  • a conveyance system that causes a plurality of conveyance vehicles to execute a load grabbing request is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
  • This transportation system extracts the load grabbing request with the highest priority (the degree of priority for items that need to be transported early) from among multiple load grabbing requests, and executes the load grabbing request. Assign load grabbing command to the selected transport vehicle.
  • the number of conveyances is, for example, the number of conveyances per unit time. There is a problem that the number of conveyances is insufficient for the number of conveyance commands.
  • the present disclosure describes a conveyance system and a conveyance control method that can ensure a sufficient number of conveyances.
  • the conveyance system of the present disclosure includes a plurality of conveyance vehicles and a controller that allocates conveyance commands to the plurality of conveyance vehicles, and the controller assigns priority to a conveyance command having a relatively short conveyance time or a relatively short conveyance distance. Executes specific assignment processing to assign to cars.
  • the controller executes the specific allocation process.
  • a transport command having a relatively short transport time or transport distance is executed with priority.
  • the transport time or transport distance is short, the transport command is completed relatively quickly.
  • the number of conveyances per unit time in the entire conveyance system can be increased. Therefore, according to this conveyance system, a sufficient number of conveyances can be ensured.
  • a certain number of idling vehicles transport vehicles in an idling state
  • a conveyance vehicle in an idling state means a conveyance vehicle that is not in operation, or in other words, a conveyance vehicle to which a conveyance command has not been assigned (including a conveyance vehicle that has completed unloading).
  • the controller may allocate transport commands in descending order of transport time or transport distance.
  • the controller may suspend transport commands that have a transport time or transport distance that exceeds a predetermined value.
  • the transport vehicle since the transport vehicle does not execute time-consuming (high-cost) transport commands, the number of transports per unit time can be increased, and the number of transports can be increased.
  • the controller may execute the specific allocation process under the condition that the operating rate of the guided vehicle is greater than or equal to a threshold value. Rather than executing the specific allocation process all the time, the specific allocation process is executed only when the operating rate exceeds a threshold value.
  • the operating rate is low, transport commands are assigned, for example, in the order in which they are received (or generated), regardless of the transport time or transport distance. Therefore, appropriate allocation processing can be performed according to the situation of the entire transport system. As a result, the transport efficiency in the transport system is improved. Further, in normal times, it is possible to easily handle commands that require a long transport time or transport distance, and it is expected that the commands will be less likely to remain.
  • the controller may select a transport vehicle from among the plurality of transport vehicles that can reach the transport target article indicated in the transport command at the fastest speed, and assign the transport command to the transport vehicle. In this case, loading and loading travel by the transport vehicle are started early. Therefore, the transport command can be completed more quickly.
  • Another aspect of the present disclosure is a transport control method for allocating transport commands to a plurality of transport vehicles in a transport system including a plurality of transport vehicles, the method giving priority to transport commands having a relatively short transport time or transport distance. Assign to multiple vehicles.
  • the specific allocation process is executed.
  • a transport command having a relatively short transport time or transport distance is executed with priority.
  • the transport command is completed relatively quickly. Thereby, the number of conveyances per unit time in the entire conveyance system can be increased. Therefore, according to this transport control method, it is possible to ensure a sufficient number of transports.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of conveyance in a conveyance system according to an embodiment.
  • FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the transport system according to one embodiment.
  • FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the definition of transport time (processing time).
  • FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a transport control method according to an embodiment.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing another example of conveyance in the conveyance system according to one embodiment.
  • a transport system 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a system in which a transport vehicle 10 travels along a track 2 laid, for example, on the ceiling of a factory.
  • the conveyance system 1 constitutes a conveyance system that conveys a load (article) L.
  • the load L is, for example, a container that stores a plurality of semiconductor wafers, but may also be a glass substrate, general parts, or the like.
  • the transport system 1 mainly includes a track 2, a plurality of transport vehicles 11, 12, 13, . . . , a higher-level controller 5 (see FIG. 2), and a transport vehicle controller (controller) 20.
  • the conveyance vehicles may be referred to collectively as the conveyance vehicle 10, and when referring to individual conveyance vehicles, they may be referred to as the conveyance vehicle 11 (conveyance vehicle 12 or conveyance vehicle 13).
  • the track 2 is a predetermined travel path on which the transport vehicle 10 travels.
  • Track 2 is a one-way road.
  • the traveling direction D (forward direction) of the plurality of transport vehicles 10 on the track 2 is determined in one direction as shown by the arrow in FIG. 1, and traveling in the opposite direction is prohibited. ing.
  • the track 2 is suspended from the ceiling of a factory, for example.
  • Trajectory 2 includes a branch BP.
  • the branch point BP is a point where the branch road separates from the main route.
  • the track 2 has two loop running paths 2A and 2B, and four connecting running paths 2C that connect the loop running paths 2A and 2B in a mutually traversable manner.
  • a branch portion BP is provided at a position where the connecting travel path 2C continues to the loop travel path 2A (branches from the loop travel path 2A).
  • the transport vehicle 10 is configured to be able to transfer the load L.
  • the guided vehicle 10 is an overhead traveling automatic guided vehicle that travels along the track 2.
  • the transport vehicle 10 is also referred to as, for example, a truck (transport vehicle), a traveling vehicle (traveling vehicle), or an overhead traveling vehicle (overhead traveling vehicle).
  • a plurality of load ports for grabbing and/or unloading the load L (for example, 10 load ports from the first port P1 to the tenth port P10) are arranged. has been done.
  • the transport vehicle 10 picks up the load L placed on any load port, and unloads the load L at any other load that is the destination.
  • the guided vehicle 10 includes a traveling section that causes the guided vehicle 10 to run, a position acquisition section that acquires the position of the guided vehicle 10 on the track 2, a vehicle control section that controls the operation of the guided vehicle 10, and a transportation section at the branching section BP. It has a branching mechanism and the like for switching the traveling direction of the car 10 (all not shown).
  • the guided vehicle 10 periodically transmits running information regarding the running status of the guided vehicle 10 to the guided vehicle controller 20.
  • the traveling information is information indicating the state of the guided vehicle 10 itself.
  • the traveling information includes position information of the guided vehicle 10, vehicle speed information of the guided vehicle 10, information regarding whether the load L is loaded, information regarding the traveling state of the guided vehicle 10, and information about the traveling state of the guided vehicle 10 when the guided vehicle 10 is running. It includes at least the scheduled driving route related to the schedule (driving plan).
  • the traveling states of the transport vehicle 10 include assigned traveling, loading (grabbing), loading traveling, unloading (unloading), and the like.
  • the transport vehicle controller 20 receives, for example, a transport command corresponding to a load grabbing request to acquire the load L at any load port (load grabbing port).
  • the upper controller 5 is, for example, a manufacturing controller.
  • Possible cargo gripping ports include a load port of a processing device, an in/out port of a stocker, and a buffer as a temporary storage location for the cargo L.
  • the cargo gripping port is also called a from port.
  • the transport command generation method is not particularly limited, and various known methods can be used. Note that the transport vehicle controller 20 may generate a transport command in response to a load grabbing request from the host controller 5 or the like, and transmit the transport command to a predetermined transport vehicle 10.
  • the transport commands include a command to cause the transport vehicle 10 to travel to the position of the load gripping port on the track 2, a command to have the transport vehicle 10 grab the load L at the load grip port, and a command to unload the load while it is loaded on the track 2. It includes at least a command to cause the transport vehicle 10 to travel to the port position and a command to cause the transport vehicle 10 to unload the load L at the unloading port.
  • the conveyance vehicle controller 20 allocates a conveyance command to an empty conveyance vehicle among the plurality of conveyance vehicles 10 in a normal assignment process to be executed when the conveyance system 1 is in a normal state. Empty carriers are carriers 10 that have not been assigned a transport command, and include empty carriers 10 that are not transporting any load L. Details of the normal allocation process and other transport controls will be described later.
  • the transport system 1 of the present embodiment is configured such that, for example, when the transport vehicle controller 20 receives (or generates) many transport commands, the number of transports (work amount) in the entire transport system 1 can be maximized. It is composed of Here, the number of transports or the amount of work is the number of transport commands executed and completed per unit time.
  • the guided vehicle controller 20 executes a specific allocation process different from the normal allocation process in a predetermined transport state of the entire transport system 1, in addition to the normal allocation process during normal times.
  • the transport vehicle controller 20 allocates transport commands in consideration of combinations of transport commands and the plurality of transport vehicles 11, 12, 13, etc. so as to maximize the number of transports. In the conveyance system 1, the conveyance amount is improved by such conveyance control.
  • the conveyance vehicle controller 20 includes a conveyance command transmitting/receiving section 21, a conveyance state determination section 23, an operation rate calculation section 24, an operation rate determination section 25, an allocation processing section 26, a conveyance command table 27, a system state It has a table 28 and an allocation result table 29.
  • the carrier controller 20 is an electronic control unit that includes a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like.
  • the transport command transmitting/receiving unit 21 receives a transport command indicating a request to grab the load L from the host controller 5. A plurality of transport commands may be transmitted from the higher-level controller 5 simultaneously or sequentially.
  • the transport command transmitting/receiving unit 21 stores the received transport command in the transport command table 27.
  • the transport command table 27 stores one or more transport commands. Note that the transport command for which the allocation process by the allocation processing unit 26 has been completed may be deleted from the transport command table 27, or the processed transport command may be managed separately from the transport command for which the allocation process has not been completed. good.
  • the transport state determination unit 23 determines whether the state of the transport command stored in the transport command table 27 has changed. For example, if the transport command stored in the transport command table 27 has changed since the previous determination (for example, if a new transport command has been stored), the transport state determination unit 23 determines that the transport state has changed. Note that the transport state determination unit 23 may determine that the transport state has changed when a certain period of time has passed since the previous determination (even if no new transport command is stored). Further, the transport state determination unit 23 may have the function of a vehicle transmitting/receiving unit that acquires vehicle state information from the transport vehicle 10 by polling communication. In that case, the transportation state determination unit 23 stores the acquired vehicle state information in the system state table 28. In addition to the vehicle status information, the system status table 28 may also store the status of routes or buffers (storage shelves called OHBs), and the like.
  • OHBs storage shelves
  • the operation rate calculation unit 24 calculates the operation rate of the transport vehicle 10 in the entire transport system 1.
  • the denominator or population in the calculation of the "operation rate” is the total number of transport vehicles 10 in the transport system 1, and the numerator in the calculation of the "operation rate” is, for example, the load L being collected or transported (see FIG. 3). This is the number of conveyance vehicles 10.
  • the numerator in calculating the "operation rate” is the number of carrier vehicles 10 to which a transport command has been assigned, but which have not completed unloading.
  • the operation rate determination unit 25 determines whether the current operation rate in the transport system 1 is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value based on the operation rate calculated by the operation rate calculation unit 24.
  • the operation rate determination unit 25 stores a predetermined threshold value regarding the operation rate.
  • the threshold value may be, for example, a value between 5% and 30%, or a value between 10% and 20%.
  • the threshold value stored in the operation rate determination unit 25 and used for determination may be set or changed as appropriate. If the operation rate calculated by the operation rate calculation unit 24 is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the operation rate determination unit 25 determines that the current operation rate is equal to or greater than the threshold value.
  • the operation rate determination unit 25 determines that the current operation rate is not greater than or equal to the threshold value. Note that although the operating rate determination unit 25 of this embodiment uses the "operating rate” as an index, the determination may be made using the "idling rate” as an indicator, contrary to the "operating rate".
  • These transport state determination section 23, operation rate calculation section 24, and operation rate determination section 25 constitute a system state determination section 22 that manages various indicators such as vehicle operation rate and determines the system state.
  • the various indicators are, for example, system performance indicators including a transport lead time (moving average value) and/or the number of completed transports per unit time.
  • the system status determination unit 22 refers to the system status table 28 to manage various indicators and determine the system status.
  • the allocation processing unit 26 controls either the normal allocation process or the specific allocation process based on the determination result in the utilization rate determination unit 25.
  • the normal allocation process executed by the allocation processing unit 26 is a known allocation process (or allocation process).
  • the specific allocation process executed by the allocation processing unit 26 is an allocation process (or allocation process) unique to this embodiment, and is control that emphasizes the amount of transport in the entire system.
  • the allocation processing unit 26 stores, for example, a predetermined value (cost threshold) regarding lead time (transportation cost). Each transport command has a cost related to transport time or transport distance as transport cost.
  • the allocation processing unit 26 targets only the transport commands having the transport cost related to the transport time or transport distance less than or equal to a predetermined value from among the plurality of transport commands.
  • the allocation processing unit 26 arranges the plurality of target transport commands in descending order of transport cost, and allocates the transport commands in order from the top (in descending order of transport cost or in order of shortest transport cost). Conveyance control by the allocation processing unit 26 will be described in detail in the description of the conveyance control method.
  • the concept of "large” or “small” is equivalent to the concept of "long” or “short”. The reason is that the transportation cost is a cost related to transportation time or transportation distance.
  • the allocation processing unit 26 stores the allocation results in the normal allocation process and the specific allocation process in the allocation result table 29.
  • a transmitter for transmitting a transport command to the transport vehicle 10 is provided.
  • the cost (transport cost) related to the transport time or transport distance that each transport command has may be a value calculated by the transport vehicle controller 20.
  • the guided vehicle controller 20 may calculate the cost for each conveyance command in consideration of the running state of the guided vehicle 10 on the track 2, the position and distribution of empty guided vehicles, and the like.
  • transport time processing time
  • “retrieving” also referred to as retrieving
  • Transport indicates the state from the assigned run until the loading is completed.
  • Transport also referred to as Delivering
  • the idling time indicates the collection time during which the transport vehicle 10 is in the collection state, and the transport time during which the transport vehicle 10 is in the transport state are included.
  • the time taken means the processing time or lead time.
  • a predetermined value (cost threshold) regarding lead time that each transport command has is used.
  • the transport command transmitting/receiving unit 21 of the transport vehicle controller 20 receives a load grabbing request from the host controller 5, and receives a transport command in response to the load grabbing request (step S01). ). Subsequently, the transport command transmitting/receiving unit 21 sequentially stores the received transport commands in the transport command table 27 (step S02). Subsequently, the transport state determining unit 23 determines whether the state of the transport command has changed (step S03).
  • the transport state determining unit 23 determines that the transport state has changed (step S03; YES). For example, if a new transport command is stored in the transport command table 27 compared to the previous determination, the transport state determination unit 23 determines that the transport state has changed. Note that the transport state determination unit 23 may determine that the transport state has changed when a certain period of time has passed since the previous determination (even if no new transport command is stored). In that case, the allocation to the two types of allocation processing in steps S04 to S07 becomes a periodic event.
  • step S03 if the transport command stored in the transport command table 27 is the same as the previous determination, the transport state determination unit 23 determines that the transport state has not changed (step S03; NO). In that case, the process returns to step S01.
  • step S03 when it is determined that the conveyance state has changed, the operation rate calculation unit 24 calculates the current operation rate in the conveyance system 1 (step S04). Subsequently, the operating rate determination unit 25 determines whether the operating rate is equal to or greater than a threshold value (step S05). The operating rate determination unit 25 compares the operating rate calculated in step S04 with a pre-stored threshold value.
  • the threshold value is, for example, a numerical value within the range described above.
  • the allocation processing unit 26 executes specific allocation processing (step S06).
  • the guided vehicle controller 20 executes the specific allocation process under the condition that the operating rate of the guided vehicle 10 is equal to or higher than the threshold value.
  • the operation rate determination unit 25 determines that the operation rate is not greater than or equal to the threshold value (less than the threshold value) (step S05; NO)
  • the allocation processing unit 26 executes normal allocation processing (step S07).
  • the allocation processing unit 26 allocates a transport command to an empty guided vehicle among the plurality of guided vehicles 10.
  • Transport commands are assigned, for example, in the order in which they are received or generated.
  • the allocation processing unit 26 selects, for example, among the plurality of transport vehicles 10, the transport vehicle 10 that can reach the load L to be transported indicated by the transport command at the fastest speed and assigns the transport command.
  • the allocation processing unit 26 subjects only the transport commands having the transport cost related to the transport time or transport distance smaller than the threshold value from among the plurality of transport commands. For example, the allocation processing unit 26 arranges the plurality of target transport commands in descending order of transport cost, and allocates transport commands in order from the top (in descending order of transport cost or in order of shortest transport cost). For example, in the state shown in FIG. 1, the carrier 11 is idling, the carrier 12 is idling, and the carrier 13 is traveling with a load toward the ninth port P9, which is the unloading port. be.
  • the allocation processing unit 26 stores "90" as the predetermined value. Since T1 and T2 exceed the predetermined value, the allocation processing unit 26 does not perform allocation processing for T1 and T2. That is, the transport vehicle controller 20 suspends a transport command having a transport time or transport distance exceeding a predetermined value in the specific allocation process.
  • the assignment processing unit 26 allocates the transport command T3 to the transport vehicle 12 because the transport vehicle 12 can reach the seventh port P7 earlier than the transport vehicle 13. That is, the allocation processing unit 26 selects the transport vehicle 10 that can reach the load L to be transported indicated by the transport command among the plurality of transport vehicles 10 at the fastest speed, and assigns the transport command to the transport vehicle 10 .
  • FIG. 5 shows, for example, a situation that can occur immediately after the situation shown in FIG.
  • the conveyance vehicle 11 is idling
  • the conveyance vehicle 12 is traveling with a load toward the seventh port P7 which is the unloading port (executing the above T3)
  • the conveyance vehicle 13 is in the state shown in FIG. is idling.
  • T4 Transport command from the first port P1 to the sixth port P6
  • Transport cost 15
  • T5 Transport command from second port P2 to fourth port P4
  • Transport cost 30
  • T1 Transport command from 10th port P10 to external port (outside Bay)
  • Transport cost 120
  • T2 Transport command from 5th port P5 to external port (outside Bay)
  • Transport cost 90
  • the allocation processing unit 26 does not perform allocation processing for T1 and T2 because T1 and T2 exceed the predetermined value. That is, the transport vehicle controller 20 suspends a transport command having a transport time or transport distance exceeding a predetermined value in the specific allocation process.
  • the allocation processing unit 26 determines that the arrangement of T4 and T5 allows simultaneous transfer, and allocates the transport command T4 to the transport vehicle 13 and the transport command T5 to the transport vehicle 11. In this case as well, the allocation processing unit 26 selects the transport vehicle 10 that can reach the load L to be transported indicated by the transport command among the plurality of transport vehicles 10 at the fastest speed, and assigns the transport command to the transport vehicle 10 .
  • the transport vehicle controller 20 executes the specific allocation process when a plurality of transport commands exist.
  • a transport command having a relatively short transport time or transport distance is executed with priority.
  • the transport time or transport distance is short, the transport command is completed relatively quickly.
  • the number of conveyances per unit time in the entire conveyance system 1 can be increased. Therefore, according to the conveyance system 1 and the conveyance control method, a sufficient number of conveyances can be ensured. Furthermore, since each conveyance vehicle is not tied down for a long time, a certain number of idling vehicles can be secured.
  • the conveyance vehicle controller 20 allocates conveyance commands in order of shortest conveyance time or conveyance distance.
  • the number of conveyances can be further increased by preferentially executing the conveyance commands in the order of shortest conveyance time or conveyance distance.
  • the transport vehicle controller 20 suspends transport commands having a transport time or transport distance exceeding a predetermined value. Since the conveyance vehicle 10 does not execute time-consuming (high-cost) conveyance commands, the number of conveyances per unit time can be increased, and the number of conveyances can be further increased.
  • the guided vehicle controller 20 executes the specific allocation process under the condition that the operating rate of the guided vehicle 10 is greater than or equal to the threshold value. That is, the specific allocation process is not executed all the time, but is executed only when the operating rate is equal to or higher than the threshold value.
  • the operating rate is low (step S05; NO)
  • transport commands are assigned, for example, in the order in which they are received (or generated), regardless of the transport time or transport distance. Therefore, appropriate allocation processing can be performed according to the overall situation of the transport system 1. As a result, the transport efficiency in the transport system 1 is improved. Further, in normal times, it is possible to easily handle commands that require a long transport time or transport distance, and it is expected that the commands will be less likely to remain.
  • the conveyance vehicle controller 20 selects the conveyance vehicle 10 that can reach the load L to be conveyed indicated by the conveyance command at the fastest speed among the plurality of conveyance vehicles 10 and assigns the conveyance command. As a result, loading and loading traveling by the transport vehicle 10 are started early. Therefore, the transport command can be completed more quickly.
  • the controller suspends transport commands having a transport time or transport distance exceeding a predetermined value, and allocates transport commands in descending order of transport time or transport distance.
  • the controller may suspend transport commands having a transport time or transport distance exceeding a predetermined value, and may allocate transport commands regardless of the transport time or transport distance.
  • the controller may determine the allocation order based on other factors. The controller only has to assign priority to a transport command having a relatively short transport time or transport distance.
  • the controller may process (without suspending) transport commands that have a transport time or transport distance that exceeds a predetermined value, and allocate transport commands in descending order of transport time or transport distance. good.
  • the controller may take remedial measures. In other words, the controller forcibly assigns a transport command when a predetermined condition is met, regardless of the transport time or transport distance (even if the transport time or transport distance is long enough to exceed a predetermined value). Good too.
  • a predetermined value (cost threshold) related to the lead time of each transport command is used, but different from this, another predetermined value (cost threshold) related to wait time may be used.
  • the predetermined value regarding lead time and another predetermined value regarding wait time may be used together.
  • step S05 above the step of determining the operating rate may be omitted. By turning off or reducing the vehicle balance control, it is possible to disperse the idling vehicles 10.
  • a reservation process and/or a swap process which are known transport controls, may be combined. These processes can be executed based on the positions of the load grabbing port and the load unloading port and the position of the transport vehicle 10.
  • the execution criteria for executing the specific allocation process is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, if the priority of transport is separately controlled in a factory etc. (user side) or if a special command is adopted, a different threshold value etc. may be set and the Specific allocation processing may be performed only on the specified assignment.
  • the specific allocation control of the above embodiment may be interrupted by control based on the circumstances of the factory or the like (on the user side) with appropriate criteria and timing.
  • the track layout to which the conveyance system of the present disclosure is applied is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 1 (FIG. 5), and various track layouts can be adopted.
  • an overhead traveling vehicle has been described as an example of the transport vehicle 10, but other examples of traveling vehicles include an unmanned traveling vehicle that travels on a track installed on the ground or on a mount, a stacker crane, etc. included.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
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Abstract

L'invention concerne un système de transport comprenant : une pluralité de véhicules de transport ; et un dispositif de commande qui attribue des ordres de transport à la pluralité de véhicules de transport. Le dispositif de commande exécute un traitement d'attribution spécifique dans lequel des ordres de transport ayant une durée de transport ou une distance de transport relativement courte sont classés par ordre de priorité et attribués à la pluralité de véhicules de transport.
PCT/JP2023/007383 2022-04-13 2023-02-28 Système de transport et procédé de commande de transport Ceased WO2023199628A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (5)

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JP2024514834A JP7816499B2 (ja) 2022-04-13 2023-02-28 搬送システム及び搬送制御方法
US18/855,438 US20250341845A1 (en) 2022-04-13 2023-02-28 Transportation system and transportation control method
CN202380033167.5A CN118984800A (zh) 2022-04-13 2023-02-28 搬送系统及搬送控制方法
KR1020247037040A KR20240172754A (ko) 2022-04-13 2023-02-28 반송 시스템 및 반송 제어 방법
EP23788050.5A EP4497705A4 (fr) 2022-04-13 2023-02-28 Système de transport et procédé de commande de transport

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JP2022-066474 2022-04-13

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EP (1) EP4497705A4 (fr)
JP (1) JP7816499B2 (fr)
KR (1) KR20240172754A (fr)
CN (1) CN118984800A (fr)
TW (1) TW202344453A (fr)
WO (1) WO2023199628A1 (fr)

Citations (5)

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JPH10214115A (ja) * 1997-01-29 1998-08-11 Nec Corp 無人搬送車制御装置
JP2000148242A (ja) * 1998-11-17 2000-05-26 Murata Mach Ltd 搬送台車システム
JP2014186377A (ja) * 2013-03-21 2014-10-02 Ihi Corp 自動搬送システム
JP2018052659A (ja) * 2016-09-27 2018-04-05 株式会社ダイフク 物品搬送設備
WO2019198330A1 (fr) 2018-04-12 2019-10-17 村田機械株式会社 Système de véhicules de transport et procédé de commande de véhicules de transport

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JP3663726B2 (ja) * 1996-03-25 2005-06-22 株式会社豊田自動織機 物流システムにおける搬送経路設定方法及び装置。
WO2011014599A2 (fr) * 2009-07-29 2011-02-03 Siemens Industry, Inc. Système et procédé d'assistance en matière d'itinéraires de livraison
US20210247762A1 (en) * 2020-02-12 2021-08-12 Qualcomm Incorporated. Allocating Vehicle Computing Resources to One or More Applications
WO2022049929A1 (fr) * 2020-09-02 2022-03-10 村田機械株式会社 Système de véhicules de transport et procédé destiné à contrôler un véhicule de transport

Patent Citations (5)

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Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPH10214115A (ja) * 1997-01-29 1998-08-11 Nec Corp 無人搬送車制御装置
JP2000148242A (ja) * 1998-11-17 2000-05-26 Murata Mach Ltd 搬送台車システム
JP2014186377A (ja) * 2013-03-21 2014-10-02 Ihi Corp 自動搬送システム
JP2018052659A (ja) * 2016-09-27 2018-04-05 株式会社ダイフク 物品搬送設備
WO2019198330A1 (fr) 2018-04-12 2019-10-17 村田機械株式会社 Système de véhicules de transport et procédé de commande de véhicules de transport

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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Title
See also references of EP4497705A4

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KR20240172754A (ko) 2024-12-10
JP7816499B2 (ja) 2026-02-18
US20250341845A1 (en) 2025-11-06
CN118984800A (zh) 2024-11-19
TW202344453A (zh) 2023-11-16
EP4497705A1 (fr) 2025-01-29
EP4497705A4 (fr) 2026-03-25
JPWO2023199628A1 (fr) 2023-10-19

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